Hollywood, TX
Stop the Blitz
Why we shouldn’t give in to the hype over Sandra Bullock’s latest blockbuster.
26 comments
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010, 8:35 pm
Dianne says:
I was so disgusted that TM allowed Mr. Kelly’s review to be published...did they not read it first? It was incredibly offensive to me and I told myself right then and there I would NOT renew my TM subscription. I do not want to give my very hard earned money to some magazine that lets one of their own spew such hateful disdain towards anything "white america". Did they forget that this is a true story, ’Hollywoodized’ yes, but still a TRUE story. These people took this young man in and he now has an amazing life.
I saw this family on a news show and you could tell that the love they have for their adopted son was deep and genuine. Shame on TM.
Sunday, March 7th, 2010, 9:14 am
DB says:
No race angle? You joking? If anything, it’s underplayed. What’s dialled down even more is the evangelical fundamentalism of the white academies, those post-desegregation schools that sprouted up in the South for the sole purpose of preserving racial apartheid and abandoning the poor. Read the book. It’s better, although author, Michael Lewis, isn’t getting much love amidst the film hype, even for a lowly writer… But, in fairness, the evolution of the NFL left tackle is probably less dramatically compelling than the blind side from the white side of the tracks and the dreadful consequences of becoming slightly less welcome at the Junior League and the bridge club.
Saturday, March 6th, 2010, 6:49 pm
Ben says:
Christopher Kelly -
Why you or Texas Monthly thinks your opinion means something is totally beyond me, but your reviews are sad and pothetic. You need to move out of your mommy’s basement and go out in the real world. We all know you were the skinny nerd (you prob still are) in highschool therefore you know NOTHING about highschool football or any sport for that matter. You clearly had little to no friends in highschool so your opinion on what YOU think is realistic or not is totally a waste of everyone’ time and energy.
Monday, March 1st, 2010, 4:29 pm
Bill says:
For the reviewer: what a bunch of hogwash. I wonder if he is black. I saw the movie without thinking about such trash ideas and enjoyed it. The movie was about kindness and care of our fellow human being regardless of race. If it had been about a black rich athelete helping a poor white, I am sure the reviewer would find something wrong with that too. The reviewer needs to get a life. Next time I see a review and his name is shown, I will skip knowing it will be liberal nonsense.
Monday, March 1st, 2010, 2:46 pm
John says:
I have never read a critic’s review of a movie in which the reviewer was angry about a film’s success at the box office. His animosity toward this low budget film’s ability to out gross ticket sales of the high dollar Hollywood blockbusters playing at the same time is puzzling.
In trying to justify why this should not have happened, he expresses a cynicism about certain elements in this film in an attempt to diminish the appreciation of this work by the multitudes of movie goers who are responsible for it’s success. Everyone I know that has seen this fact based movie were able to let the story tell itself without assigning the pretext of white guilt or racial exploitation that Kelly wants your readers to acknowledge.
In the process of stating this film exemplifies a narrow vision of white conservative race relations, he has called into question the motives and integrity of the real life Tuohy family and their Christian beliefs to help others. Without any first hand knowledge of the relationship between Michael Oher and the Tuohy family, he and others have questioned whether Oher was taken in so that Leigh Anne Tuohy could show him off as a mascot to shock her socialite friends or possibly exploit his potential as an offensive lineman for the Tuohy alma mater.
If Kelly truly wants answers to these questions and others he has raised about the film, perhaps he should ask the real life Michael Oher. Now that would be fun to listen to and watch.
Sunday, February 28th, 2010, 8:20 pm
JDS says:
This movie review is very perceptive and as a white person I cringe at the responses to it. Reading the comments makes very clear the truth of the last line of The Heart of Whiteness:
"The world does not need white people to civilize others. The real White People’s Burden is to civilize ourselves."
Monday, February 22nd, 2010, 9:09 pm
phyllis says:
Perhaps Mr. Kelly should ask Michael Oher where he would be if it weren’t for this rich white family.
Monday, February 8th, 2010, 8:44 am
Christina Jontra says:
I have been astounded at the criticism many in the press have had against The Blind Side. Who wins? Why can’t this be a story about one man or family helping out another. Leaves me wondering what criticism you would make against the Good Samaritan.
Saturday, February 6th, 2010, 4:48 pm
Brian says:
I suppose you can see Mr. Kelly where you stand with the majority of folks here and their response to your critique...if you want to find racism, you’ll find racism. So thanks for being racist. You truly are a hack, aren’t you sir? I watched the on-line interview with Aston Kutcher. Nice "couger" reference when asking about his muse in Spread! Ever think that that might be offensive to Demi?!
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010, 12:56 pm
Stephan says:
In the mid ’60’s I was an eight year old, carefree kid growing up in an extremely racist small town, 40 miles from the dead center or "deep in the heart of Texas". I had heard stories of the signs that were placed at the edge of our town displaying the disturbring message of "Don’t let the sun set on your black a_ _ in (my home town), Texas". I remember when a young African American couple with two beautiful kids moved in to town in the mid ’70’s, only to be driven out two nights later, by the highly contagious bias that plagued that town up until I moved away with the Navy in the mid ’70’s. It was the best move I ever made. I have witnessed racism, first hand. But to see a blatant attempt to FIND racism in the message that "Blind Side" delivered is well beyond my scope of thought. To me, and I don’t think I’m in the minority here, the movie displayed the grit of a young man that had every reason to fail, but made it.
So Mr Kelly, come on, the next time a movie of this importance is released, close the lap top, open your heart and enjoy the message. It’s a refreshing angle, try it, you just might find it enjoyable.
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010, 6:01 pm
Edward says:
Christopher Kelly’s article says The Blind Side perpetuates racism because it tells a story about a white person helping a black person. I volunteer in an elementary school mentoring program in an economically challenged neighborhood. I mentor a child who is in the second grade. I am white and my second grader is black. I don’t care what color he is; I just want to help him. We need more stories about people crossing racial lines to help other people. We do not need more articles that perpetuate racism by finding racial offenses where there are none.
Sunday, January 31st, 2010, 11:55 am
elena says:
Let me guess Mr. Kelly...you’re a white guy who was raised in the suburbs and has no clue what it’s like to grow up in the hood. You’re white guilt makes you sound like a pompus idiot...most of the white folks in The Blind Side were creeps, as you will recall, it took something special for that southern family to embrace Oher...don’t you get that? Do you also think that those Jews should have pulled themselves out of the Holocaust...was Schindler a racist too?
Thursday, January 28th, 2010, 8:19 am
haveyouseenmikedingus says:
Robert Martindale says:
So is the "right" response to encountering an individual who needs help to first check their color to ensure one doesn’t act racist?
This is spot on!
Based on the logic of the author, white folk should never adopt outside their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status. No adoption of Chinese or Haitian orphans, right?
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010, 12:17 am
Greg says:
Mr. Kelley’s mistaken description of the neighbors in Gran Torino as "Korean" indicates racial sensitivity on his part that perhaps could some day lead to a writing role for "King of the Hill."
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010, 5:44 pm
Sherill says:
Your review of "The Blind Side" sounds like your own white guilt speaking. Witch-hunters find witches -- every time. So did you. The movie wasn’t about racism, it was about rising above the everyday happenings and making a difference. I’ll bet anything Michael Oher rises above and pays it forward. By the way, you missed the point in "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Gran Torino" too.
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, 10:51 pm
Scott Mendelson says:
Shannon Morris’s NCAA investigator (whose name is Granger, by the way) is in fact an antagonist, but the questions she asks in her third act scenes are relevant ones, and her ’interrogation’ leads to a genuine heart to heart between Bullock and Aaron. And, if you’d notice, Granger is far less antagonistic once Oher provides her with a genuine and honest answer to her completely fair questions about whether or not he was being coerced into playing for Tuhoy’s alma-matter. She’s not a villain and she absolutely serves a role in the third act of the picture.
Point being, the movie works because, as a fictionalized story based on actual events, it is ABSOLUTELY as much about Michael Oher as it about Leigh Anne Tuohy.
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, 2:02 pm
Thomas says:
It really bothers me when someone tries to find a race "angle" in an otherwise enjoyable movie. Can’t Kelly go to a movie for how it makes you feel? Oh, I guess not - that’s why he’s a critic.
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, 1:10 pm
Luke says:
Mr. Kelly hits the nail almost squarely on the head in his article. The reason I say "almost" is that I do agree this is a feel good story about white people helping black people but he should have expanded more on the Tuohy’s real motives.
Is it not surprising to everyone who has responded harshly to Mr. Kelly’s article that the Tuohys chose this specific kid to adopt? Sean Tuohy played basketball at Ole Miss which also happens to be the same school his wife attended.
The Tuohys are still big fans of Ole Miss who like all "fans" want to see their school’s atheletic teams succeed. Mr. Oher could have attended almost any college in the country on a football scholarship but where does he decide to go? He goes to a school dripping in icons of racial intolerance and white supremacy...oh and also his new mama and daddy’s favorite little college.
If you don’t see the irony in all of this you have your head in the sand. A white family acquires a huge black kid, trains the kid then sends him to work as a left tackle at Ole Miss. Talk about "where old times are not forgotten"!
Well, that’s my two cents....
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, 11:46 am
Tawn MacDonald & Ruby Jensen says:
Where do I begin. Mr. Kelly, you just don’t get it, do you? To normal, everyday people like myself, it inspires me to share, to love and to extend my hand to anybody (black, white, brown, etc...) and help them. Mr. Oher had brilliancy in him but nowhere in his life was it coming out. He needed that guidance and help from someone; it didn’t matter what race Mr. Oher was or what race of the people that helped him. The main point was he got the help he needed to become the best person he wanted to be. The movie Blind Side inspired me to want to help others achieve.
Bravo to Mr. and Mrs. Tuohy and family for their love, compassion and belief and in putting the eleventh commandment to good use: "love thy neighbor as thyself."
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010, 10:35 am
Jim says:
Kelly had to dig deep in his shallow imagination to find racial issues in the movie. What a bunch of crap!! If anything Kelly is a racist. We enjoyed the movie.
Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 11:45 pm
Lisa says:
Mislabeling the neighbor’s nationality as Korean discredits Christopher Kelly’s position. The neighbors were Hmong, not Korean. Get the facts straight and then you have a plausible argument. So much for "racial coding."
Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 8:22 pm
Allison says:
I was so sad when I read this article. I love this movie, however I tried to put my emotions aside and really look at this film objectively. I kept coming back to thinking ’what happened to the writer of this article that he has to be so rude?’ It could just be the way I was raised, but I didn’t even "see" race in this movie. I saw a human being helping another human being... it was a real eye-opener. Maybe Mr. Kelly is a good writer, for bringing out so many emotions in me, but really, who bashes a feel-good movie? Ouch.
Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 5:25 pm
Robert Martindale says:
So is the "right" response to encountering an individual who needs help to first check their color to ensure one doesn’t act racist?
Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 12:37 pm
Joe Leydon says:
If you’re going to decry alleged racism in a movie, it might be a good idea not to reveal your own, uh, racially-tinged misapprehensions in your review. Clint Eastwood’s neighbors in "Gran Torino" most certainly were not, as Mr. Kelly states, Korean – they were Hmong, a fact repeatedly emphasized throughout the film. This reminds me of the time I went into a Dallas sporting goods store with my Korean son before catching the 1994 World Cup match at the Cotton Bowl. When I asked the sales clerk for T-shirts and caps emblazoned with "Korea," she said she didn’t have any in stock. "But I have some with ’China’ on them," she helpfully informed me. "That’s the same thing, isn’t it?" Well, no, not really. I know that, to some folks, they may all look alike, but…
Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 12:36 pm
Brian says:
I haven’t seen this movie yet, but I definitely will now if Chris Kelly talks garbage about it. He’s a hack.
Friday, January 22nd, 2010, 11:52 am
Deg says:
I’m surprised every review of this movie isn’t crippling. When I first saw The Blind Side trailer I honestly thought it was a joke. A very, very funny joke. Then I realized it was a very, very sad joke. By the way, how do you think Precious fits into this "exploiting real-life stories because it’s not racist if it really happened" film genre?
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